


The Future Everyone Wanted: Past Continuous

by 1Knight_Wonder



Series: The Future Everyone Wanted [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3, Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brotherhood of Steel (Fallout), Multi, Post-Fallout 4, Series, The Institute (Fallout), Two Sole Survivors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27538351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1Knight_Wonder/pseuds/1Knight_Wonder
Summary: Abby had always been one to question things, even if it went against all she was trained to do, even if it went against what she needed to do to survive. But now more than ever her time to think is running out. And as she marches under a mysterious flag for a cause she doesn't understand, to a place she doesn't recognize anymore, she would soon realise that the war, the real war, is not one of flesh, blood, steel, and plasma, but for the heart and soul of her dead world.
Relationships: Cait/Sole Survivor (Fallout)
Series: The Future Everyone Wanted [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867639
Kudos: 3





	1. Not Quite Rome

**_Maryland. February 6, 2290_ **

Abby’s face was distraught. She looked around her, nothing but road and the wastes of former civilization. Boston was a hole since she woke up, but in a year it developed to at least a semblance of a ‘future civilization.’ _All that ambition and greed. All the stuff that I had to do... look where it took us._ Lost in thought, Abby’s thoughts were interrupted by a beep from her earpiece, indicating an incoming caller.

“Commander! Scout Sergeant Hale from the 2nd Reconnaissance Division reporting.” The man exclaimed.

“Report.” Abby replied in a calm but stern voice.

“Ma’am, path up ahead is all wet from yesterday’s rainfall, but just before I left, it started snowing a fair smidge. The roads are also in poor condition as expected. I don’t know if we can get the heavy vehicles through.”

_We had to start this in the middle of the winter, huh._ She thought. “Alright, how far ahead are you looking?”

“About... five kilometers from my current location; near the border of the old Columbian Commonwealth. What are your orders?”

“Hmm... have your squad find possible alternate routes. I’ll send the message down the line. Dismissed.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With a single beep, the call ended. 

“What’s the situation?” Sarah inquired.

“Road up ahead is muddy and wrecked. It also started snowing apparently.”

“You hear that?” Sarah nodded to an officer behind her, who replied with a nod and a turning of his earpiece knob to relay the information. These technological marvels were unheard of throughout the wastelands. Thanks to Institute Advanced Systems, long distance communication wasn’t restricted to using bulky devices. Instead, it was quick and more importantly, discreet; as long as there was a source of signal, communication between two points was possible. These feats of engineering were made possible through modified Institute vehicles that emitted these unique, low-profile signatures. The NEA had not previously made it into these territories, and therefore couldn’t establish proper towers, so these vehicles served as temporary alternatives.

During the campaign preparations, the Institute distributed these earpieces to key members and units that were involved in the NEA’s expansion campaign; thanks to their small size, mass production was simple and costs were low; human hands had plenty of room to err, but synth workers suffered from no such restriction. Abby herself was allowed access to one of these long before the current events, during her numerous missions done for the Commonwealth City Government. Due to her suspicions, she’d always return them after completing her job. 

"So." Abby asked Sarah, not turning to face her. "Now that we're on the road, how do you think this is gonna go down?"

"Who knows." Sarah replied. "My opinion hasn't changed though. This is the right thing to do." she said confidently. 

"Hmm." 

**_Brotherhood of Gold Bunker, November 20, 2289, 4:40pm._ **

"Chuck, how are rations and medical supplies?" Sarah asked.

"Rations are good; a bit on the bland side but good otherwise. Medical supplies are behind schedule though. I think the supplier's brahmin tripped or something." 

"Mhmm. Check on the scribes, see if they need anything."

"Roger that, Elder Lyons."

Chuck gave an informal salute and jogged away. The campaign preparations at this time were still in full flow. As the Elder, Sarah had to be on top of everything going on with the preparations (not to mention meetings with the Director inside the Institute itself). Currently, she was assisting Abby in inspecting their armory, along with loading ammunition and storing it appropriately.

"You're awfully quiet over there." Sarah broke the silence.

"Yeah well, a lot of these guns are in pretty bad shape; separating the useless from the usable is taking a bit of brain power."

"Right... Still not totally on board for this?"

Abby looked at her packed belongings and chanced on a holotape, suddenly remembering a certain synth detective's sharing.

"You _really_ have to ask? Anyway, it's not like I have much of a choice."

"Look... " Sarah stopped what she's doing and sighed. "This is what the Brotherhood _should_ be doing. We've gotta make up for all the lost time Maxson's little escapade cost us and get back on track. If hope is what we’re trying to bring then the Institute is our best bet."

Abby sighed. _Why do you have to be right..._

"I know you have your doubts about them, but I really think they mean the best for humanity."

“Easy for someone who’s been down there to say. The reason I joined you, the reason I’m still here is because I trust you. I knew you were doing your part in sticking out for the little people out there, but the Institute? The Director? Excuse me, I’m just having a hard time believing people that _conceited_ have our best interests in mind."

"If they really were as selfish as you say, the Director wouldn't have reached out. Commonwealth City would still be ‘the Commonwealth.’ You think all these resources and funds just go down the drain for an ulterior motive?"

"Based on empirical evidence and personal experience, absolutely."

Sarah kept quiet after that as a tense silence enveloped the room. She knew exactly what she meant. Abby resumed her tinkering. _While it was never said explicitly, what we're about to do is no different from waging war. What our intentions are won't matter. As long as they see guns, there will always be misunderstanding._

"If you can't trust them, trust me." Sarah dropped what she was doing and walked up to Abby. "You said you joined the Brotherhood because you trusted my leadership and cause, right? Nothing about what we're about to do is certain. We could fail and go to war or we could succeed and fix this damn country, even just a little bit." She put her hands on Abby's shoulders and stared into her cold eyes. "Honestly? This whole thing is fucking terrifying; I have no idea how it’ll turn out... " Her voice barely broke as she spoke.

Abby glanced around the room, ensuring no one was overhearing their exchange. She then took another look at her belongings, particularly at the detective's holotape. Sarah caught onto that and sighed, biting her lip in resignation.

"You already know what he wants to do with the NEA,” Abby said with a little venom in her tone. “Hell, I lived in the old Commonwealths, I studied them in school. He’s going _beyond_ his borders, Sarah. Are you absolutely _sure_ you wanna pull through with this?" 

Sarah looked down and collected herself. Suddenly, her grip on Abby's shoulders tightened immensely.

"Abby... Anything, and I mean _ANYTHING_ is better than the way things are now! Anything is better than living in fear of regret... You of all people should understand what's missing from this world. So trust me. Please."

Sarah looked sadly, almost panderingly at Abby. She didn't notice until now, but her companion wasn't making eye contact. Abby's usually steely countenance was softened with uncertainty and a look of wistfulness. She couldn’t even bring her eyes up to meet Sarah’s.

"Okay." Abby replied softly. "I'm done with my work here. I'll check in with Ash; see if he needs help with the recruits."

Sarah let go and walked towards the exit, stopping at the doorway.

"I sure hope you're right." Abby remarked.

"Yeah."

"If you're wrong... Guess we’ll all see what the price is."

_Earlier that day._

Abby was alone in the barracks. She took a peep outside to see if anyone was heading her way, she even checked the wall for flies or any living creature that could be an Institute camera. Nothing, round the lights, under the bed, or in the nooks and crannies.

She exhaled and pulled out her Pip-Pad, and reaching under her bed, she pulled out the holotape Nick had given her to play it. There was a bit of static at first, but as the tape cleared, it painted a clearer picture of where it was from.

**_Directorate Meeting Room, the Institute. September 19, 2287._ **

“... members of the Institute, you have welcomed me with open arms, and for giving me a chance, I thank you.”

“With the execution of doctors Higgs and Loken, there wasn’t much doubt left in our minds that you would lay down your life and the lives of anyone who threatened the Institute, Director.”

A few murmurs and grunts of approval were heard.

“Thank you, Doctor Secord. Now you may wonder why I called near every scientist here today. And if you’ll forgive the rather cramped space, I can promise you that I will be blunt. I am no scientist, I did not grow up in a lab, but I did grow up leading. And as Director, I have to admit that I have found rather gaping holes in our operations, which I will address today. These issues stretch long before my son’s reign and included him: the Institute has grown bored, too bored to actually care about humanity. May I ask anyone here why they were raised to fear the surface?”

There was a moment of tense silence, you couldn’t even hear one person breathe.

“You will not be executed or marked for a dissident, I assure you. If we can communicate-”

“Because the people above ground are savages. Because they cannot be trusted with the power we possess.”

The Director continued seemingly without having to address whoever said it directly. “Precisely! Because your dealings with people who have no inkling of what this organization really is have been shaky, at best. Abductions, ruthless operators, infiltrators. And for what? Intelligence? Research for the improvement of life? Ladies and gentlemen, I will be very blunt and say that this is _not_ the Commonwealth Institute of Technology I have grown alongside before the bombs fell, no sirs and madams.” His sentences were long and delivered quickly. He sounded almost frustrated, but he caught himself and calmed down.

“Many of you now know the injustices performed to loyal Institute doctors Swann and Virgil. A good score of you are horrified, some of you confused, others indifferent. But I am not sent here to judge, no sirs and madams. You are as much victims of the times as the people who toil the land above us... I would tell you what I’ve seen up there- has anyone ever been immersed in life above ground? No? I know Doctor Wallace has. Doctor Wallace…” Handy looked around to find the man in question, and nodded at him when he did. “...would you by any measure of your imagination describe the people of the Commonwealth as ‘less than human?’”

The doctor looked a tad uncomfortable. Sure, there were some pretty bad people, but they were bad people, nothing less. Wallace glanced around him, subconsciously looking for some security, but everyone staring at him didn’t give him any. “Personally no… Director.” Wallace looked down, knowing he had probably decreased his reputation amongst some of his colleagues.

“Then we have our lesson. The Institute has been making mistakes by failing to recognize that sentiment _alone_ . You all know that I go by two titles: Director of the Institute, General of the Minutemen. The latter is proof that we above ground are not savages… We have food, water, arms, and goods transferred between recognized Minutemen settlements that under a provisional agreement, are freely given for the sake of their own survival. Sound familiar? the Institute doesn’t deal in currency, we deal in opportunity, we deal in _survival;_ and we take what we don’t have.” Handy’s countenance softened. “But I tell you this day that the days of having to take them by force are over. The Minutemen have driven raider gangs and mutant tribes away from their strongest positions all by themselves, arguably without Institute aid. True, Institute troops are stationed at key roads as of now, but the Minutemen are solely responsible for every major offensive against the threat. Mankind already rules the surface. The Institute no longer needs to make an enemy out of the surface, and on the word of the officers and ranks of the Minutemen, I as General am enacting a pardon and a peace -I pray a partnership- between the Institute and the dwellers of the Commonwealth. We here will have our resources and the surface will share in the benefits we enjoy.”

There were more murmurs heard, but nothing too shocking. It sounded as though the scientists were more weighing the pros and cons of this opportunity, and it sounded mostly optimistic.

“To reflect this good faith, Robotics Department, I am discontinuing the Gen 3 program. Effective immediately.”

Now there was a little more chaos.

“Pray, hear me, members of the Institute,” the Director said almost sternly. “Everything that program stands for, everything these synths have been made to do is not redefining mankind, but betraying it!”

“Director, the Gen 3 program is the result of years of development, o- of bloodshed! It represents the purity we all so desire the human race to have!”

“We are breeding _slaves_ , Dr. Binet! They are pure and the future of our evolution, maybe, I know well those Coursers can put up a fight. But you cannot _ever_ call them the future of mankind as long as you deny them humanity.”

“Yeah!” Liam Binet shouted from near the entrance. The rest of the scientists _hmph-_ ed in recognition, though not necessarily agreement.

Handy did not change his tone. “Ladies and gentlemen, our vision has been misplaced! And there is no better time to correct it than _now._ ”

Silence once more. Whatever Handy had done to gain the trust of these men and women, it definitely came into play now.

“We can only do so much underground... humanity can only grow so much here, where there are no threats... as evidenced by this _evil_ boredom. We cannot let it stand... As Director of the Institute I order the Directorate to begin negotiations with the Minutemen on the formation of an alliance. One that will benefit both organizations, hopefully make it one.” Handy smiled. “If only you saw what you could do up there... ”

“Director,” Allie Filmore spoke meekly. “This will require time.”

“We don’t have time, Dr. Filmore. Our world is more dead than it ever has been and the tools to redefine humanity, to _restore_ it, to put _us_ back in power, are right up there,” Handy pointed. “I ask a great deal out of all of you, if this was a more savage place I’d have been shot by now. But dear members of the Institute I make a simple proposition: give the surface another chance, and I will give you an empire.”

**_Brotherhood Bunker, 4:43pm._ **

The holotape buzzed to an end, and Abby sat there on her bed, processing what she had just listened to. _How did Nick get his hands on this? How was it leaked? Who would want to leak it?_

Abby racked her brain for answers. She leaned her back against the wall; against the corner that her bed was in. _‘I will give you an empire.’ What a prick._ Abby smiled to herself, pleased that she felt that she was vindicated in her assumptions. Following that though, she realizes the rest of what had been said.

_From what I can tell, he definitely sounds genuine. Well, most leaders start out that way if they weren’t already rotten. Pairing up what he said and what I saw from him during our meeting, I think he really does care about wanting to better the wasteland. He does sound like a bit of a dick, but I’m sure he had to put on some airs to charm those antisocial elitists. Still, power has broken the purest people. It’s like what Nick said; what road will the Director take? What more if he believes he’s absolutely right? How long until he feels like he needs to squeeze his fist in order to bring his point across? I don't know. And I don't like where this could go._

_Present day._

The Brotherhood outfit marched on. They numbered about fifty in total, but they had a posse of synth soldiers marching alongside them, as well as the radio truck creaking along the road. It was a terribly silent thing despite being so damned heavy, being powered on nuclear fusion, no emissions or anything like that. It was so silent that the outfit barely noticed it stopping.

Abby noticed first and attempted to talk to the synth operating the vehicle, but she heard someone speak on the comms. “Guys, I think we’re here.”

“Here? What do you mean ‘we’re here?’”

Abby looked around and observed her surroundings, nothing much.

“I mean I see the skyline, Elder. It’s the capital. We’re here!"


	2. There Must Be More

**_The Capital Wasteland, February 7, 2290, 3:08pm._ **

The main Brotherhood outfit rendezvoused with their scout unit and set up shop. The radio truck had stopped way further back on the highway as the synths were instructed; Director Galeone was no slouch at conducting war: radio interceptions and intel theft were commonplace back before the bombs fell, and he wasn’t going to take risks with any of the Institute’s frequencies.

Leaving the truck behind though, meant the members of The Brotherhood had to carry the essential pieces for the relay tower themselves.

“Man, these are heavier than they look,” Ash complained.

He looked over at Abby, who was carrying nothing of note. “Hey, why aren’t you carrying anything? What, just let the goons in power armor-”

“I _am_ carrying something. And if we’re suddenly ambushed out here, the person carrying the relay chip should be able to scramble at a moment’s notice... hmm... Right, here’s good,” Abby ordered with a clear voice.

Everyone carrying a piece of the relay tower set down their equipment and started unfolding, expanding, and setting up the pieces according to instruction. It wasn’t awfully tall, but when Abby inserted the relay chip into the main breaker, the fragile-looking, twenty-foot tower began to whir with a low buzz.

“That should do it,” Abby remarked. “Now we wait for HQ to-”

Relays fired all across the highway, platoons of synths all of a sudden made the place less lonely. Each squad relayed in carrying a different industrial part to further build the tower and make its spawn signal more reliable and less scattered. Others still, relayed in with barricades to set down along the road to secure it.

 _They sure do know how to conquer,_ Abby thought as she sat down on a nearby box and started on a can of Instamash. The rest of the advance party did the same and took a breather. They had been on the march for more than a week on County Road, and their trip was slowed somewhat by the occasional skirmish with ferals, muties, or the occasional displaced raider gang. The lattermost was the most threatening, but a few synth relay grenades (despite their maddening inaccuracy) were usually enough to scare them off. 

As Abby ate, she entertained herself by watching the synths work on the tower, from a tent set up for the Brotherhood members _(how kind of them)_.

_Just... how the hell did I get here; convinced to take point in an operation I didn’t know the history behind, for a Director whose motives I couldn’t pinpoint, backed by a Directorate I could toss a coin for to see if they were obeying or using him? Focus, Abby... Mom would smack me upside the head for being so pessimistic about every damn thing._

**_Brotherhood Bunker, December 4, 2289._ **

“Madeleine, work with Jesse to figure out how you’re going to divide the scribes. Most of you will probably be going back and forth with Institute forces for recordings and whatever else.”

“Yes, Elder”.

The scribe walked out of the room, and Sarah continued dishing out assignments.

“Chuck, take quartermastery up; supplies all need to be stacked and orderly for all our divisions. Talk to our suppliers and handle payment. Find someone who can help you record all transactions.”

“Roger.”

Chuck walked out of the room to perform the task. Sarah then finally turned to Abby.

“Alright, I’m putting you in command of the First Infantry Division.”

Abby, not looking to cause a scene and ruin the mood, nodded but stared disapprovingly at Sarah; a look that said ‘ _We’re talking later’_.

“You all have your designations, don’t slack off and help your comrades out. Dismissed.”

The other leading figures of the organization walk out the room. Everyone but Abby and Sarah remain in the room.

“I’m no soldier, Sarah. Even less of a commander.” Abby piped up. Her old training made it very clear that she would hold no positions of command.

“We’re lacking manpower, really. We’re just a splinter; even with a ton of defectors from the original Brotherhood, not nearly enough. Plus, your instincts are good, that goes a long way.”

“Right.”

“I was thinking of putting together members for the Pride, you know? We kind of need that elite unit again, for morale’s sake.”

“What stopped you?”

“The Capital doesn’t have any significant military force governing it, not anymore at least. There’s no need to go overboard to organize a vanguard squad. Especially when things are already as hectic as they are now.”

“Right. So what’s the actual reason you put me in direct command? I might be the highest ranking officer but I’m the newest one here. There are plenty you can trust with leading.”

Sarah sighs and rubs her forehead.

“So I have an excuse to keep you here. I’m sure you’d run off at the last second and fake a disappearance or something.”

“That maternal instinct of yours is a bit screwed, don’t you think? Even if you didn’t do anything, I’m sure the Institute would’ve tracked me and egged me on about it.”

“This is a good opportunity for you to take responsibility. We can’t just keep running and expecting something to change.”

“Don’t misread my intentions. Of course I want something better! Just not with these Institute assholes.”

“So why become a regular merc employee with them? Why’d you help them take over Quincy?”

“I worked _for_ them, not _with_. They don’t seem like the type of people to give me a choice. Doesn’t help that whenever I see them, they’re always backed up by armed synths.”

“You and your goddamn paranoia... I won’t get pissed if you say you just wanted their money... Just don’t make any more excuses, okay?”

Sarah walks out of the room, signalling the end of the discussion and leaving Abby to her thoughts.

_What did she say back then? ‘I always tell you to do your best, right? Even when you aren’t sure you’re gonna win, you have to do your best. That right?’_

Abby sighed as she recalled the words of someone from long ago.

_Just this once;_ _maybe war is the best way to achieve progress. God, that was painful to even think about... But now’s not the time for second guessing. I just have to do my part in making this as smooth as can be; keep casualties to a minimum, don’t draw conflict out. Doing nothing at this point would just be irresponsible. If I’m wrong in joining the NEA’s campaign... then I’ll regret it later._

**_The Capital Wasteland, 2 hours later._ **

“Commander _Darling_ , refreshments have been prepared at the designated refreshment tent,” A skeletal Gen 1 told her. Abby had just been watching it prepare the refreshment tent with efficiency alongside the other synths, and watched as it looked over its work, realizing it was done, leading it to walk all the way to her to deliver the notification.

In truth, She was just bored. This campaign did not excite her, it didn’t fill her eyes with opportunity-lust. She knew war, she knew what the consequences were, and no amount of futuristic gizmos and wonder-tech could convince her that it had changed one bit, no matter how much she was trying to convince herself otherwise.

As she got up to go see what refreshments the synths had prepared, the relay fired again. She had barely noticed that a full-blown satellite dish was sitting over the relay tower, which now doubled in size and allowed for much more precise teleportation. The relay fired again and again, about five times in total, at first fully-armored Gen 2 troopers, then a couple Coursers, then the entire Directorate accompanied by a waiting Elder Lyons. 

“There it is, ladies and gentlemen. The fabled Capital Wasteland,” Handy said, motioning to the skyline in the distance. The Directorate members looked more concerned with the conditions of the camp, while Sarah walked slowly with glossy eyes in the direction of what used to be Washington D.C.

“Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire were just the beginning. You’ll find enough scrap _and_ technology in this city alone to create two NEAs. For one, returns on the clean water we can requisition from here can-”

Abby was standing at a distance, and her eyes went back and forth between the Director and Sarah. The latter was too emotional, it seemed, to pay attention to the capitalist lingo being sprung from Handy’s mouth. Abby walked towards her Elder.

“Ad victoriam, commander,” Handy tipped his hat with a courteous and charming smile, but Abby returned the greeting with minimal eye contact and posture, instead going straight to Sarah, who still looked awestruck and had a small fluttering smile on.

“Ad victoriam... ” Sarah whispered.

“So.” Abby takes notice of her emotional state. “What’s up?”

Sarah took a deep breath. “Nothing it’s... Just never thought I’d be home again.”

“Hmm..”

Quick as _that_ though, Sarah turned to face the other members of the Directorate. Dr. Curie and General Preston looked more at home in the surface world, but the other members retained the fish-out-of-water look they had back during the parade. “Look at ‘em,” Sarah nudged Abby, “They can’t wait to get back into their air-conditioned paradise underground.” The two chuckled a bit when a gust of wind pushed them a little further back than any person who would have grown up with it.

“I wouldn’t worry, _Elder,_ ” Abby said with a dry chuckle, “If this goes well I think we’re in charge of a new paradise. Right over that horizon.” The two turned back and watched as the sun began to set.

“I hope so, _Sentinel_. All we have to do is take it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UGH I apologize for the uncorrected verb tenses in this chapter. Apparently my co-writer never went back and corrected them and I can't be bothered to rewrite it at this point because school is a thing. BUT to make it up I'm posting the next chapter right now and it's one of my favorites that I've written so far so if you haven't been triggered by the grammar yet, go check it out :))


	3. Attack on Washington

**_Andale, February 11, 2290._ **

The overly cheerful, cannibalistic and inbred citizens of Andale screamed in terror as NEA special forces marched in and forcefully removed the “Maxson Brotherhood” pockets of resistance, forcing them further and further back into the heart of D.C.

The harsh hums of laser rifle fire battered the air and covered the invaders in a cloud of ominous smoke. Some citizens bared their vicious sides and fought back, but Minutemen Elites and Institute Coursers were the best troops in the east coast, and they swept through the town without a single death in their ranks. Accompanying them though were the cool but terrifying Atom Cats, serving as the main heavy force to go mano e mano with the power armor units.

“We can’t hold them! Fall back, fall back! yeuGHCK.” Another Brotherhood knight was riddled with light and his ashen remains fell on the ground alongside the rest. There was no place to hide and regroup for the Brotherhood forces, the invisible Coursers struck and stalked, and the heavy weapons of the Minutemen’s machine guns forced them to keep their heads down.

“Draw ‘em into the open and set up a line!” The amply armored and armed Brotherhood garrison evacuated town to attempt to regroup, but they were too late.

A column of smoke filled the sky from one of the rooftops, and looking up, a few knights and initiates screamed out as they witnessed a pure white X-01 taking to the air and showering the Brotherhood infantry with scattered beams of never-ending blue light. Some thought that light was the fabled light one sees at the end of their life, but one thing was for sure, the lives of every Brotherhood member stationed in Andale ended that day in fire and ash.

**_Raven Rock, Valentine’s Day, 2290, 8:07am._ **

"General Garvey?!" A soldier shouts out, trying to shout over the sound of gunfire and explosions.

"Where are those reinforcements?!" Preston leans out of cover and shoots two rounds in the way of the opposition: more as a way to create pressure rather than hit his mark.

"They'll be here soon!"

"Alright, then we hold here! Don't let them push us out. We've got enough cover to exhaust them a bit."

Unexpectedly, the NEA forces had run into some trouble at Raven Rock. The Brig. General's force in particular was pinned down while trying to advance into the enemy's entrenched position. The General could call for vertibird support although they were instructed to not damage the facility they were invading (or at least keep the damage to a minimum). The Brotherhood remnants that they were facing had made Raven Rock their home; entrenchments, turrets, spotlights and even some traps in select locations. The exterior of the bunker was now turned into a mini fortress and the NEA experienced that first-hand.

_ Paranoia really was Maxson's strong suit, _ Preston thought.

"Ge... ral-Ge... ne-l, d-do y... u c... py?"

In the chaos of the crossfire, Preston thought he heard a noise coming from his earpiece. He covered his open ear and focused his attention to his earpiece.

"This is Brigadier General Garvey! Please repeat!"

"General, this is Commander Darling. I'm bringing the reinforcements in from your west flank. Stay still!"

"Dammit. Roger!"

Brotherhood troops all of a sudden came onto Raven Rock at an angle and caught the opposition by surprise. Now faced with a pincer attack, the loyalists did not know where to put their attention to. They had built a nice exterior fortification so that the door could not be so easily accessed, but that proved quite the mistake as they were forced to abandon their position and retreat inside the rock. 

The NEA-Brotherhood forces advanced and took some hits, but they poured fire into the doorway as it closed, making sure they got as many licks in as they could. With the retreat completed. It was now time to settle down.

"Lieutenant Walker, get some men to check the battlefield. Stragglers, survivors or whatever; take them as prisoners."

"Yes ma'am." The lieutenant gestures to some lower rankers and divides them across the field. With that, Abby approaches Preston.

"General." Abby said. "We weren't tardy, were we?"

"Hah. Just in time, Commander. Thanks for the assist. Who knows how long we would've been out here."

“My guess is that hasn’t changed at all, that’s a pretty solid bunker they got over there.”

Preston laughed a little, but out of cynicism if anything.

"So, what gives? Since when were there fortresses in the Capital?" Preston asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. All the information we had to go on was limited to Elder Lyons' and other Brotherhood members' ideas of this place."

"In other words, vague?"

"To put it bluntly, yes."

"Commander!"

Their conversation was cut short when Lieutenant Walker's voice came into Abby's ear.

"Lieutenant, report."

"We have one survivor. Looks like his power armor's fusion core got damaged and he tripped while they were retreating. He's barely conscious; going in and out of it."

"Bring him back to our place. I have an idea. Darling out."

Preston turned his body to Abby in intrigue. “An idea? Whatever for?”

“To get us inside that rock.”

“Commander, we don’t torture people here... ”

“Who said anything about torture?”

**_Tenpenny Tower, Valentine's Day 2290, 12:09am._ **

Synths stormed the former luxury hotel uttering the same warning: “Please do not resist. Tenpenny Tower is now under the protection of the New England Alliance.”

Most of the residents cowered in fear or stood in shock as the contingent moved towards the penthouse suite, where Allistair Tenpenny stood at his usual spot on the balcony.

Mr. Tenpenny had his trusty sniper rifle at his side, and he simply looked on as the “herd” he was hunting stormed his beloved tower. Synths took positions in the room and pointed their guns at the elderly man, clearing the way for Director Galeone to join Allistair outside.

“Bigotry, murder, it’s a wonder you called the Brotherhood to protect you. You’re quite like them, Mr. Tenpenny.” Handy walked with aristocratic swagger and stood behind and at a distance from the tower’s namesake; the Director was calm and upright with his hands clasped behind his back.

“And you would be any different?” The old man grumbled in his particular accent that made Handy’s sound more English in comparison. “I’ll give it to you, you’re an affluent man, Mr...”

“Galeone. Hudson Galeone.”

“Mr. Galeone. The residents of Tenpenny Tower are no savages, and you know very well that you would have to become one to be rid of them.”

“I understand very well sir.”

Allistair turned to face the Director and threw down his rifle. He motioned towards a table to his left with a chessboard on it and spoke. “Do you play, sir? I’m no good in a fight, but I don’t have any evidence to suggest  _ you  _ wouldn’t fight to gain that which you please.” 

“Why it just so happens that I  _ do  _ know how to work the pieces.”

“Well then, I propose a game, for the propriety of Tenpenny Tower.”

Handy bowed slightly as he had learned from the pre-war diplomats he had witnessed, and took off his bicorne, handing it to one of the Coursers beside him. The Director proceeded to sit at the table with the set board, and unbuttoned his jacket to face Mr. Tenpenny’s opening move: e4.

The Director responded like he normally did: c5, The Sicilian Defense, a move that seemed to shock old Tenpenny. The old man took a sip of whiskey in a glass on the table and continued: Nf3. Handy moved immediately. d6, Nc3, g6. Allistair looked a tiny bit flummoxed, having never faced this sort of response from black, but he pushed on, if out of frustration. D4, cxd4, Nxd4, Bg7. White was forced to retreat and defend: bc3, e5, Nf3 once again. But now, the old man got too excited: Bb5, Nc6, b4, Be6. Tenpenny looked to force some action by capturing the knight, but Handy hardly looked fazed and recaptured with his pawn. Tenpenny recognized that he had lost control of the center and tried to apply more pressure by threatening black’s queen with Bg5, but he was thwarted by Nf6. Alistair was desperate to regain control of the center of the board and he looked to bolster his position with Qd3, at this, Handy practically salivated and immediately pushed d5. exd5, cxd5 and Tenpenny had lost both of his center pawns, he was looking compromised, so he looked for safety and castled kingside. He failed to recognize the trap. Handy fiddled with his e pawn to make Alistair realize what he had done before pushing it to e4. The Director then leaned back and checked his Pip-Boy. It had been only five minutes. Tenpenny was all sorts of desperate, but he was determined to get the most he could out of the exchange. Eventually he sacrificed one of his knights en route to a huge exchange involving both queens, leaving one of white’s knights to live, but it landed on the useless h4 square; it was practically a dead piece anyway.

Handy looked the board over and castled kingside himself. He leaned back and spoke. “It seems like the old has been mistaken for the reliable.”

Allistair’s eyes fumed with hatred and spite. He angrily stood up and reached inside his jacket, but he resumed his seat promptly, after the sound of laser-fire battered the balcony and echoed across the wastes. The Director was still seated back. He sighed as he picked up the glass of whiskey and gently placed white’s king lying on its side. “Good game, Mr. Tenpenny.” He raised the glass to the very dead man sitting across him and took a sip.

“General! General!”

One of the Minutemen Elites rushed into the penthouse. “Transmission from General Garvey, he met more resistance than we anticipated at Raven Rock, he needs reinforcements.

_ It never changes does it?  _ Handy clenched his jaw, he really couldn’t get a moment’s downtime these days. So he downed the rest of the drink and heaved himself out of the chair. “Get my materials up here asap. I’ll oversee the debrief report.” Handy motioned to his guard as he strode back through the penthouse.

Some synths were already carrying some of Handy’s planning materials into the place.

“Synth!” Handy said as he passed by at a brisk pace to one of the synths down the hall. “The people of this region hated that gentleman. Mount his head on a pike and leave it out on the balcony.”

“Yes, sir.”


	4. The Days When My Mother Was There

**_Home, February 10, 2049, 2:06pm_ **

“Happy Birthday, Abigail!”

“Mommy!”

Abby shuts the door on her way in as she excitedly ran towards her mother and smacked full send into her stomach.

“Heya, you gotta be careful with the person who has a big cake in her hands!”

“Hihihi, I love you mommy!”

“I love you too!”

Danielle pat her daughter’s head affectionately while simultaneously running her fingers through her hair, suddenly, a bright idea came to mind.

“Mommy, I wanna go on a date.”

Danielle feels her heart skip a beat; and not in a good way.

“Huh?! Why?”

“Because people who love each other go on dates! I heard it from someone in school.”

“Okay... but who are you going with?”

Danielle suddenly felt her heart in her throat. She stands up and walks to the kitchen to set down the cake.  _ Since when did my little girl want to go on dates? She was bound to learn about romance sooner or later but I can’t handle this! Why can’t you just stay a cute girl forever? WHO’S THE BOY?! Mommy needs to- _

“I wanna go on a date with you, Mommy!”

“Huh?”

“Hellooooo, can you hear meee? I said I wanna go on a date with you!”

“Oh.”

Danielle felt her face redden as she covered it with both hands.  _ Jesus... I should stop making bad presumptions. It ain’t good for my heart.  _ The lovely mother regained her composure and faced her child.

“Hmm, I like that idea but are you sure you don’t wanna take a bite outta this cake ‘ere?” 

“I want cake to be the last part of our date!”

“Hmmm okay, we can go to the park first and somewhere after. I’m not busy right now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I am. I’m finished with school!”

“I don’t like seeing Mommy cry because of me... ” Her posture drops as she averts her eyes.

“Baby, it’s never because of you, ‘kay? If it’s for you, I feel like I can take college all over again.” 

Danielle bends down and cups Abby’s cheeks in her hands, wiping them affectionately. Even if no tears dropped, the sensation was still something Danielle absolutely cherished. 

“But I’m glad you feel that way. You’re so young but you’re so thoughtful. I’m glad you’re my daughter.”

“Mommy... stop. I don’t wanna cry right now.”

“Me neither, but I just wanted to tell you that. Now just sit tight, Mommy’s jus’ gonna dress up, mhmm?”

“I wanna dress up too!” 

\---

“Wowww... You’re so pretty, Mommy!”

“Just you wait; when you’re older, you’ll be even prettier.” Danielle replies with a warm smile, albeit one that’s a bit sad.  _ When you’re older...  _ Danielle stood in front of her mirror with a little twirl. She was sporting a beige turtleneck sweater over a black jumper skirt. She also wore a matching beret over her dark brown hair in a bun directly behind her head; purposely letting strands of hair fall to the sides of her face.

“Your outfit is so mature!”

_ Mature, huh? Only a kid would call a 23-year old that in this day and age. _

“Why, thank you. Dressing up n’ feeling pretty is an important part of dates.”

“Can you pick my clothes for me?”

“Sure!”

Abby smiles as wide as humanly possible. Danielle grinned and chuckled.  _ All that saved money from all those part time jobs really paid off. I get cute clothes and my daughter gets to do the same and smile like every little girl should... That smile is something I will always want to protect.  _

**_Park, 4:11pm_ **

Abby stands still as she watches a man and a woman playing around with a little girl.  _ They look like they’re having so much fun... I wish- _

“Abby?”

“Huh? Oh, Mommy look at what I can do!”

The little girl runs up to the monkey bars and uses her legs to suspend herself in midair. All while laughing a bit too hysterically. 

“Mommy, guess what I am!”

“Hmmm... upside down?”

“Ehhh... you’re no fun!”

Abby pouted and crossed her arms. Hair gets into Abby’s face and reaches into her mouth.

“PfftPWEH! Ah, this hair!” Abby complains as she attempts to swat her hair out of her face.

“That’s why you oughta  _ tie  _ your hair before doing things like this. Do you remember how to do that?”

“Uuuu... of course I remember!”

Abby gets down from the monkey bars and continues to pout, though she doesn’t make eye contact.

“Look at me, sweetie... ”

“If I look at you, you’ll read my mind... ”

“Wha- who said I could read minds?”

“You did!”

“Eh?”

Danielle didn’t necessarily remember when she specifically told her that, but she ran along with it anyways.

“Oh. Yeah, o’course I can read minds!”

“Can I learn to do that when I’m older?”

“You can try later when we get back home. For now, you wanna go to the mall?”

“Okay! But, can we sit first? I’m tired... ”

Abby walks over to the bench but is interrupted by her mother’s  _ coughing. _

“Mommy?”

“I just read your mind; you don’t remember how to tie your hair.”

“Uuuuu... .”

**_Mall, 4:59pm_ **

“Mommy, why was that man shouting at us?” Abby said as they were walking away from a home appliance store.

“He’s not  _ really  _ shouting. He just wants our attention.”

“So why did you ignore him?”

“Uhhh, I didn’t wanna talk to him.”

“That’s rude!”

Danielle facepalmed.  _ Those marketing teams and their heckling... She’s not supposed to be taught about these things yet; have mercy please! _

“I’m sorry.” Danielle said. “I’ll do better next time!”

“Ohhh, so I can also teach mommy new things?”

“Of course you can. There’s things that I don’t know but you do and there are things that you don’t know but I do.”

“So then I can be helpful to Mommy?”

“Mhmm!”

“Yay!”

Abby hugs her mother's forearm and continues walking. Danielle smiled warmly.  _ So damn cute! _

“So,” Danielle said. “Anything happen in school?”

“I made a friend!”

“Oh? Who was it?”

“His name was-”

Danielle’s sixth sense tingled.  _ Did she just say ‘his’?!... Wait wait wait... shhhh calm down... She’s only 6... It’s not like when you look away for 5 seconds, she’ll turn into an adult. Wait-” _

“Mommy... you’re not listening... ” She says with a big pout.

“Sorry! What’s your friend’s name?”

“Uuuu... his name is Jimmy Yang.”

“Okay, how did you meet him?”

“Well, he was all alone and I don’t think some of the other people like him so I went up to him and asked if he wanted to play. He said yes.”

“You’re friends already?”

“Yes!”

_ Simpler times...  _

“What made you say other people didn’t like him?”

“Well, the teacher never really paid attention to him, and the other kids kept making fun of how he looks. They were saying something about his parents or his eyes.”

_ Damn idiots... I guess the strained relationships we have with China don’t really help, either. _

“I’m proud of you, dear.” She said with a soft smile.

“Huh?”

“You really are a sweet girl.”

__

\---

“What do you wanna have for dinner?” Danielle asks Abby, who seems preoccupied staring at a distant table.  _ What's she so distracted by- oh. _ Danielle notices. Abby was looking longingly at a table with a full family; mother, father, daughters... 

"Darlin'?" Danielle says.

"Huh?"

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing!"

Danielle sighs.  _ Time and place, Danielle. _

"So what do you wanna order?"

“Everything!”

_ That ain’t how the world works, y’know _ . Danielle thought. She stares at Abby, waiting for her to notice.

“Mommy?”

“Darlin’, you gotta choose one, okay? If you order everything, you won’t be able to finish it all! Aside from that, won’t you feel bad for the chef who cooked all of the food you can’t finish?” How about those people who wash the dishes?” She cups her face in her hands and rests her elbows on the table, leaning towards Abby. 

“Uuuu... ”

“I ain’t got that much money either, y’know... ” She says while pouting innocently at her daughter.

“ Fine..."

“Hmmmmmmm?” 

“Fine... ” She says poutily while looking to the side.

“Good!”

_ Hehe, you’re not the only one who can be cute! _

**_Home, 10:03pm_ **

"All that cake really put you to sleep, huh?"

"Yeah... "

"Well, how was our date, darlin'?"

"Hihihi... I loved it!"

"Me too, sweetie. Well," Danielle plants a kiss on her daughter's cheek. "Goodnight."

“Mommy, you’re forgetting something... ” Abby said as she got tucked into bed.

“Hmmm?”

“Teach me how to read minds!”

Danielle laughed as she walked back over to Abby’s bedside, resting her weight on her hand as she leaned towards her daughter.

“Okay, here’s the trick; look into my eyes.”

“They’re pretty.”

Danielle blushed slightly but chuckled it off.

“Mhmm, what words do you think of when you see my eyes?”

“Cake.” 

“Take this seriously!” Danielle says as she chuckles. 

“Hehehe... Smile.”

“Mhmm... ” Danielle nods in response.

“Pretty.”

“Hihihi.”

“Ummm... scared?”

“Huh?” She replied in a bit of shock. “Be careful not to confuse your feelings with mine.”

“You said to say the first words I think of! Well... I think I am scared, too.”

“What’s wrong, hun?”

“I’m scared for you, Mommy... ”

“Well, now you’re scarin’ me; talkin’ all weird n’ stuff, hehe... ”

Danielle shifted uncomfortably in her place.

“I’m scared that you’re always focusing on me and won’t have time for like, friends or something.” Abby retreats into her blanket a bit, hiding her nose and mouth under while averting eye contact. “I’m scared when I see you cry when you don’t think I’m looking... Mommy, please tell me if you’re scared, okay?!” Abby’s voice starts breaking, yet Danielle can’t find the strength to form a single word or thought.

“Darlin’... ” She said shakily as she cupped Abby’s face and stroked her cheek.

“When we were in the park, I saw a man and a woman play with their child. In the mall, there were so many adults with their kids... In the restaurant! I’m scared that you feel sad because I never met my dad... W-why don’t I have a dad?! I thought a dad was s-supposed to be with their family!”

“I d-don’t know.”

“Mommy, It’s not fair! I want to be a family!”

Abby’s nasally tone soon turns into a full cry. Danielle, still totally unsure of what to do, opens the blanket and crawls into position; laying beside her daughter while affectionately stroking her hair.

“Mommy... does daddy hate us?” Danielle’s heart shattered in two.

“I don’t know... ” 

_ I wish I could say I was lying when I said I don’t know, but the truth is I might be more confused than she is. The day he left, he was painfully vague. All he said was he found his purpose and that it would be impossible for a family to be a part of that. He said it wasn’t because he didn’t love me although I don’t think I ever really believed him. I even threw a tantrum as he was about to go! ‘If he did really love us, he wouldn’t have left’; is it really as simple as that? Maybe he never really loved me as I thought he did; teenage brain and all. I wouldn’t expect him to make a snap decision for something so heavy... Everytime I replay that scene in my head and think of ways it could’ve gone, I could never properly express whatever it was that I felt. Was I hurt that he left? Glad? Doesn't matter now... Maybe the best answer is the one I couldn’t accept; that he left because he didn’t love us enough to take responsibility for a family. Give me time and I can accept that, but just how the hell am I supposed to tell that to Abigail? _

“Abigail?”

“Hmm?” She hummed softly.

“I always tell you to do your best, right? Even when you aren’t sure you’re gonna win, you have to do your best. That right?”

“Y-yeah.”

“I taught myself that after your dad said he was leaving.”

“But you still don’t know why he left?”

“The truth is I’m not sure but what I said still works; even if I didn’t know what your father felt or about me being a parent, I still decided I would do my best to raise you. Yes, I was scared, so it looks like you  _ can  _ read minds too!”

“Mhmmm... ” Abby managed a soft giggle.

“I know it’s sad to know that other people have things we don’t have, but even if you think we’re not a complete family, I don’t think that’s the case. We’ll just have to be the best 2-person family we can be. I love you and you love me, right?”

“Right.” 

“So even if we don’t know or are scared of something, you should still find a way to do your best. It’s okay to be scared or sad, as long as someone is there for you.”

“Okay.” Abby’s voice seems to have regained most of its normal warmth.

“I promise you I’ll always do my best for  _ our  _ family.”

“I also wanna be like Mommy.”

“Okay, so what will you do?”

“I-I’ll also do my best in school and in my chores! I want us to be the best family ever!”

“Promise?”

“Yeah!”

Danielle smiles warmly and steps out of bed, but feels a tugging sensation on her sleeve.

“Abby?”

“C-can you stay with me for tonight?” Abby asks shyly.

“Sure.” She replies as she crawls back into the bed.

“Umm... you sounded so cool when you were saying all those things.”

“Uhuh.” 

“I’m still a bit scared and confused, but you said that’s okay.”

“Mhmmm.”

“I also wanna read your mind again!”

“Ahaha, sure.” 

Abby softly bunted her mother’s forehead, closing her eyes and melting into their shared warmth.

“You’re supposed to open your eyes when you do this, y’know?” Danielle remarked.

“I know but I made a new style! Your thoughts will go into my head so I can read them!”

“Alright, alright.” Danielle closes her eyes in response. “Well? What’s it like in there?”

“Hmm... Brave”

“Mhmm... ” 

“Cool. Awesome; s-stronggg... ” Abby says with a yawn afterwards. “Love... ” 

With that, Abby seemingly drifted off into sleep, one hand finding itself intertwined with her mother’s. Danielle smiled and chuckled softly. _Did I say the right things?_ _Who knows if a child could ever get over a parent leaving them behind... I did my best and those were the words that came out. No point in beating myself up over it._

Danielle looks down at her daughter, observing her breaths while running her hand through the tangles in her hair.

_ I know it’s a selfish and stupid wish, but I’ll sing it anyway. _

_ “See the pyramids along the Nile _

_ Watch the sun rise on a tropic isle _

_ Just remember, darling, all the while _

_ You belong to me” _

_...  _

_ “I'll be so alone without you _

_ Maybe you'll be lonesome too, and blue” _

_ “Fly the ocean in a silver plane _

_ Watch the jungle when it's wet with rain _

_ But remember darling, till you're home again _

_ You belong to me.” _

  
  


Danielle planted a soft peck on her daughter’s forehead, drawing an unconscious smile out of the girl.

_ “You will always be my Darling.” _


	5. 0-0-0

**_???, Valentine’s Day 2290, 9:01pm_ **

"... Ughhh... " A captured Brotherhood soldier groggily looked around, finding himself in a dark room with barely any light. He tried moving his arms only to find them bound to the chair he's strapped to.

"Who's there? I-identify yourself!"

"Knight Damien Lane? A woman's voice inquired.

"H-how do you know me?"

"I get around. Now... " Suddenly a single bright light source appeared directly in front of his face, causing him to jerk his head to the side. "I need you to answer some questions for me. How's that sound to you?"

"Who... are you?"

"Ouch. You _really_ don't remember?" She said in an aggressive tone, causing the knight to flinch. 

"You're gonna tell me how to get into Raven Rock."

"Hah. Fuck- GAHHH!" The knight suddenly recoiled as a fist flew across his jaw, drawing blood by knocking a tooth out in the process.

"Make this quick, yeah? I'm pretty busy."

"Y-you really think-" The man spit on the ground. "You really think... you can force something out of me? I know where my loyalty lies."

The woman’s silhouette appeared and stepped herself in front of the light, staring daggers through the captured man’s eyes. 

"No, I don’t think you do." 

The knight's eyes acclimatized to the darkness. He saw only an empty room and the silhouette of his interrogator; the aforementioned woman clad head to toe in black armor and a mask.

"You’re a man of principle. I can see that much. It’s why you joined the Brotherhood.”

Suddenly the man heard the fuzzy noise of a holotape being played.

_"Is this thing recording? Hellowwww? Try it, sweetie."_

_"Hi daddy!"_

"No... " The man said to himself silently.

"Now, why keep this on your person? Isn't this something you hide in your footlocker? I was nice enough to handle this with care, though so don't worry."

"Don't. Fucking. Touch. My family." The man said with every ounce of silent rage he had.

"Relax. I'm not a piece of shit. I'm not gonna stoop that low. I do wonder though... " The tape continued to play:

_"Anyway, hey honey! I'm not sure how long you'll be gone. You're never clear with these things! But I'm sure clearing the wasteland of bad guys and doing all your hero work doesn't leave a lot of time on the table. Come back soon, though. I love you! Say bye to daddy, baby!"_

_“Byebye!!!”_

The man seemed visibly shaken up by what he had just listened to, particularly to the sound of the child. Abby coughed and started pacing around him.

"That holotape was dated 2285. A whopping five years with the Brotherhood, huh? All those years and all that effort... was worth fuck all."

"What are you getting at?"

"All those years under Maxson and he couldn't complete his goal. Hardly even made a dent in the super mutant numbers. I still see ghouls running around and about too, hell, radscorpions were a thing until the Minutemen of all people rounded them up in droves. Maybe I can chalk that up to there not being enough time, but in a couple of years, the NEA’s accomplished things only dreamed of _two-hundred_ years ago. For all the East Coast Chapter’s power, you couldn’t do jack _shit._ So the Brotherhood really has gone to shit after all."

"And whose fault was that? Pretenders in the Commonwealth that’s who!"

"Actually, it’s yours."

The woman's answer got a violent reaction out of the man, causing him to lunge forward but fall over due to his compromised position on the chair.

"Have you ever stopped to consider why the Prydwen got blown up? Maybe it was because other people knew you were wrong-"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT SHIT- AUGHH"

The man felt a slam against his chest, cracking a rib.

"Like I said, this isn't torture. If I was, I'd be hurting you to get something out. Right now, you're just pissing me off. Anyway, where was I? Ah, yeah. All that time chasing down super mutants and ghouls, hunting and hoarding pre-war tech. What about raider massacres? Gunners and other mercenaries picking on the little people out there? Your priorities are those of a blind bigot. I don't think I need to tell you but, your wife really had the wrong idea about all of this."

"Leave her out of this."

Sensing a sore spot, Abby leaned into his weakness.

"She thinks you're off saving the wasteland and its people. She probably didn't know that you were out hiding in some second-hand bunker; twiddling your thumbs waiting for your next orders to gun up some abominations. So much for coming back home to your lovely family."

"Shut up... "

"If you really did love them, you would have gone to them as soon as the Brotherhood crumbled. You didn't though, and I know why."

The man remained silent, extremely averse to eye contact.

"You didn't go back… because you were afraid of having to raise your child."

The silence only confirmed Abby's reads of the man, if only partially.

“That face you made when you heard your daughter’s voice; that wasn’t the look of longing. It was a look of complete regret.”

The man was now slightly shaking.

"That shouldn't have stopped you though, she's your wife, right? She of all people would understand. Maybe you weren’t thinking clearly when you were making your daughter. Maybe you had second thoughts; pretty shitty if you ask me but absolutely NO ONE is stopping you from making the choice to admit you wanna leave. But for someone like you, the only thing stopping you was your patheticness. Do you really love your wife?”

"Of course I d-do."

"So why join the Brotherhood and leave her behind?"

The man paused for a few seconds.

"To make this country safer... " His voice was weak.

"So a family man and a man of virtue, huh? You failed miserably at both."

"Go to hell."

_SMACK!_ Abby backhanded the man in his face, causing his cheek to swell and bruise.

"And you failed because _you_ are a goddamn fraud. A man who gets hitched only to leave his wife for some sort of _purpose_ is someone who is searching for an excuse; an excuse to not take responsibility. You probably didn't want a child but your wife did. Instead of talking it out with her, you let it happen because you were afraid of how much you depended on her for your happiness; you didn't wanna offend her. So now that you were unsatisfied, you had to go searching for an excuse to leave and you found that in Maxson's Brotherhood; an organization that uses the preservation of technology to rationalize their extreme prejudice against things they hardly understand. In other words, a fraud like yourself. I'm sure you saw through Maxson's bullshit, self-conscious and selfish as you are, but anything was better than living in your disappointment. Now that your excuse is in shambles, so is your life; no love, no purpose... all because you were so scared of disappointing your wife... And now... you have _nothing_."

The man never looked up to meet Abby's eyes. His silence further confirmed the truth behind her verbal and emotional assaults. 

"It's no wonder no one has bothered to negotiate to bring you back... "

"...what?" The man said, his voice noticeably quivering.

"It's been a month... Don't tell me you've lost track of time? It's why I was shocked to hear you didn't remember who I was."

The man gasped and looked down again in shock. Abby was lying of course, but with his doubt and self-loathing sowed, he had started losing his grip on his judgement. At that point, nothing seemed to matter that much anymore. All the lies he buried away were now presented. 

“N-no...”

“You reap what you sow. Your half-hearted _commitment_ was duly noted. They were just looking for recruits to fill their dwindling numbers, holding on to a belief they were in denial about losing. You’re not _worth_ the effort."

The man started to weep, losing all sense of shame. His breaths got shallower and quicker while he couldn’t even wipe the tears from his own face.

“Earlier I called you a ‘man of principle’. I still hold onto that; you’re a man of _your_ principle. In other words, you truly are the lowest kind of scum...”

  
  


**_Tenpenny Tower, February 17, 2290. 6:30pm_ **

It’d been three days since the Brotherhood garrison holed itself up in The Enclave’s old headquarters, and there was no sign of them coming out anytime soon. This caused some complications in the timeline.

Handy sat at Allistair’s old desk. The residents of the tower were friendly enough, but it wasn’t like they had a choice. Every bit of weaponry that wasn’t the NEA’s was confiscated and the special forces of both the Institute and the Minutemen went to work barring the doors and building barricades in the lobby. The luxurious interior was done away with and no commoner roamed the halls of the tower.

But up in the penthouse, Handy pored over a paper map. He had access to a digital one, complete with updates of troop positions, but he preferred to create his plans on a medium he had been exposed to during his twenty years of military service. Updates from the north at Raven Rock were consistent, as the signal trucks parked on the outskirts of the Capital Wasteland provided a signal by which to send information at great distances with only about a half an hour of delay (Institute wartime frequencies were a lot weaker but nigh-impossible to intercept), but nothing changed. The northern flank had not moved, even with hostilities at Raven Rock reported to have ceased.

Handy checked his Pip-Boy map, nothing had changed indeed. He turned it off and looked back at the paper map before him. The strategy he had formed was to have the regular troops relay from Commonwealth City and storm the garrisons in the north, while The Director and NEA special forces used the distraction to cut the Brotherhood line at Andale, marching then to take the ever-advantageous Tenpenny Tower while the Brotherhood lagged a step behind.

Tenpenny Tower would then serve as the stronghold and a constant threat to The Citadel as the regulars in the north swept southeastward to an eventual siege of the Brotherhood HQ, at which point would contain a dwindling and demoralized enemy.

Except the northern flank wasn’t moving. According to his intel, there was one entrance in and out of Raven Rock, Elder Lyons herself provided a detailed account. Of course, Handy ordered that as little damage as possible be done to the location so it could serve their cause, but he was rapidly reconsidering that notion. Brig. General Garvery assured him that The Brotherhood was working towards a “diplomatic” approach and that the extra troops who’ve held out valiantly for days inside the bunker could potentially be useful allies, but Handy wasn’t clearing out farms and estates of uncoordinated ghouls or unsuspecting raiders in the disorganized Commonwealth, no. He was conducting war with a powerful and organized enemy, an enemy who knew the land, who knew the people, who hoarded weapons and armor far superior to any wastelander. 

This was the first hitch in the plan, but where the rest of the Directorate might see a delay in results, Handy, as a military man, never discounted the possibility of total annihilation. Even with far greater numbers, better weapons, non-human soldiers that could be thrown at the enemy in the hundreds, and far superior technology, he never let overconfidence cloud him. The U.S Army did just that when they invaded China, and while the U.S finally got the edge with the introduction of power armor (power armor Handy himself wore), they were eventually forced to pull out of the region. _A complete waste._

The Director wondered if he had fallen into the same trap that a sense of superiority had laid for his country more than two-hundred years ago. 

In more recent times, Handy and the Institute expanded the territory of the NEA with tactics unknown to modern man. They set up shop in Far Harbor, Maine and slowly relayed hundreds of troops, scientists, and builders to clear the way for the founding of Vitruvius City right in the heart of the state. The city’s infrastructure was built in a matter of months thanks to all the scrap and decrepit old buildings that were stripped down and sent to steelworks back in Commonwealth City, which in turn returned Institute-grade building materials to the colony-building effort. As Vitruvius was built and the local nuclear reactor reactivated, more NEA troops flooded in, and eventually, a state-wide pinscher campaign was launched on New Hampshire from Maine and Massachusetts. With Vitruvius City in Maine and the newer Solar City in New Hampshire, splinters sent to plunder Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island reunited regions of the New England Commonwealth, and as the local people were attracted to building new lives with the Institute’s attractive living conditions, the NEA grew in resources and manpower. But despite all the rapid expansion in the space of a year, with a satellite array launched that would allow anyone to relay around the continent and send short-range transmissions, improved weapon technology, and improved everyday inventions like working vehicles and the new touch-screen technology, the Institute’s appetite kept growing as quickly as it was being satisfied and Handy was having a harder and harder time of keeping the more conservative Directorate members in order.

Handy reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of multi-colored plastic coins he had pulled from an old arcade he couldn’t remember. He kept tokens that represented the different sections of his military in his person for times like this, when he had the time to interact with a map.

He placed a blue coin on Tenpenny Tower, representing his flank, and two brown and white tokens representing the regular army in the north. Handy checked his Pip-Boy once more to gain confirmation and placed a single yellow coin on the northern front. He then placed two white coins stacked on each other on the very edge of the map, in between the two fronts. He then placed red coins in various locations that represented the Brotherhood of Steel. It was crude intel that they had gathered on them, but Handy had faith in his Courser scouts to be sure of the enemy’s position in the south. Still, the center of the map was a question mark. Perhaps the enemy would be more fortified in a particular area than The Citadel. _Like Raven bloody rock,_ Handy cursed to himself.

X6-88 walked into the room cold as ever with a simple announcement: “Sir, we’ve spotted a Brotherhood platoon heading this way from Andale.”

Handy moved a red coin between Andale and Tenpenny on his map. “Thank you X6, have the men downstairs been notified?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very good,” Handy said as he got up to go to the balconies. He always wanted to see enemy movements for himself whenever he got the chance. He passed Allistair Tenpenny’s head out on the high porch, serving as a warning to anyone who ever thought of scouting out the heights of the tower, and proceeded to his Director’s Guard, one of whom was staring down the sights of Mr. Tenpenny’s signature rifle mounted on the ledge for stability.

The synth moved out of the way and handed Handy the rifle, and true enough, he saw a Brotherhood platoon marching towards the tower. “They’re either dumber than I thought or know something I don’t,” Handy mused.

The Director pulled the trigger and handed the rifle back. “That’s one we won’t have to deal with. X6, X4, with me, the rest of you stay up here and pick them off. If we can delay their advance and engagement to the dead of night, that puts us at an advantage.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Coursers reached for some more long range rifles leaning neatly on a nearby wall, brought along as part of the Coursers’ operating packages, as Handy walked back into the tower towards the elevator.

**_Lobby._ **

The elevator dinged and revealed the sharp-looking Director, in his full dress as usual, flanked by his two guards. Immediately, Handy went to work, inspecting the barricades in the lobby.

“Soldier,” Handy called to one of the spec-ops stationed nearby. “Please instruct the synths to straighten these here barricades facing the doors, that’ll slow the advance as much as possible- remember! If they reach that elevator our entire position is compromised, we must make them navigate a maze before they do.”

“Yes sir!”

The two saluted each other and Handy turned to another man on site. “You there, please make sure the soldiers are properly garrisoned to guard the underground access, a large steel door is a tough obstacle but we cannot discount our enemy.”

“Yes sir.”

“X6 will you please ask the status on the civilian floor?”

X6 brought a finger to his ear and chattered for a bit before responding. “All residents accounted for on the 8th floor, sir. The guard is substantial for their safety.”

“Good. They seem orderly enough; but just in case, assign a Courser to the 8th floor when the fighting begins.”

“Yes sir.” X6 spoke into his earpiece once more as they now ventured to the courtyard.

Handy travelled straight to the main gate outside and turned around to view the choke-point from an invader’s point of view, seeing that it was good.

“Very good, ladies, gentlemen, synths. Windows?!”

Handy walked backwards to outside the gate to view the synths stationed in some of the rooms, assigned to rain fire from the windows. “Huh... just as we anticipated.”

“Indeed, sir,” X6 affirmed. Their heads perked upwards even further at the sound of a sniper rifle firing from the balcony. “And _that_ should dictate the terms in our favor further, everything seems right.” Handy said casually before going back into his makeshift fortress.

**_February 18, 2290, 1:42am._ **

“Something isn’t right... ”

“Sir?”

Handy was in the lobby with the rest of his guard and the stationed NEA troops, guns pointed vigilantly at the door.

“Nothing, not even a blip. The snipers can’t get clear shots, and the troops at the windows haven’t reported anything - they’ve gone dark... ”

“What do you suggest, sir?”

The troops in the lobby sort of turned their heads to face the Director as he stood, arms crossed and fiddling with his mustache in apparent thought.

“X6, call the guard.”

X6 put his hand up, but before he could speak he received an additional order: “And prepare my power armor. We’re moving out.”

X6 didn’t quite like the idea of the Director jeopardizing himself, but he did as he was ordered and relayed those orders through his earpiece. But then something unexpected happened: the sound of gunfire started peppering the air.

Everyone in the room assumed a ready stance, but Handy looked pleasantly surprised, even flashing a smile. “Haha! Belay those orders X6, I’m suiting up myself.”

X6 phoned the orders in and followed Handy into the elevator. “I shall return soon, soldiers,” the latter addressed his troops. “In the meantime, Godspeed New England!”

“Godspeed New England!” The troops echoed with a vigor that wiped every shred of lethargy from their visages. They were ready for a fight.

Outside, the Brotherhood laid in full tilt towards the tower in a chivalric charge. They found a good enough spot to hide from the sniper-fire, but they lost around ten of their number purely due to Courser marksmanship. Some intel the Brotherhood gathered pointed to advanced stealth technology, and the head of the Brotherhood front, Paladin Casdin was simply itching to get his hands on it. He was no fool though, he fancied the NEA would grow paranoid and employ those stealth agents in the open, at which point he would order a forward march to punish the overextension and advance to rear with the stealth tech in their hands.

But no stealth agent came, and there was no point in retreating now. If they tried to wait the garrisoned invaders into the open, they would go hungry, and there was plenty of food and supplies in Tenpenny to keep their enemy watered. If they turned back, they would have lost life for nothing.

The lack of action was enough to convince Casdin that his enemy was sleeping comfortably in their beds; what greeted him was a hail of gunfire from an enemy that didn’t sleep.

“Get this fucking gate open!” The Brotherhood braced tight against the thick stone walls surrounding the courtyard to try mitigating the effect of incoming fire. Some shots managed to sneak through but at least their number stopped falling.

\--

The elevator in the lobby opened once more, and Handy walked back through it, a foot taller and enshrouded in white steel. On his chest was emblazoned the proud seal of the NEA.

“Let them come, let them come!” Handy shouted to further fan the flames in his troops’ hearts as they heard a loud boom outside followed by gunfire a lot closer to them; The Brotherhood had broken through the gate and the NEA troops made a shooting gallery of them.

“Status,” X6 said through his earpiece. A moment passed. “Understood.”

“Report,” Handy commanded.

“The Brotherhood has taken down the gate and crossbeams and are flooding into the courtyard, we’re holding at the wings and the windows have resumed fire.”

“They can't hide an entire platoon under the porch, order them to hold position until a stalemate occurs.”

“Yes sir.”

“Be ready soldiers, we might have a chance to end this early.” Handy picked up his one-of-a-kind Institute rifle from one of his Courser guards, a weapon Advanced Systems called “Experiment 18-B.” He inspected the rifle and readied it towards the door, it seemed some eager Brotherhood soldiers were already knocking... 

Paladin Casdin wanted to funnel inside the hotel to escape the rain from the windows and hopefully turn the tide on the surprisingly tough wings of the NEA. He personally rammed himself against the doors along with two other power armored men of his. 

“Ready! HooWAH!” The Paladin and his knights shouted.

Inside, the NEA soldiers got into the rhythm themselves, observing as the door accumulated more cracks and the hinges began to give way. 

Sensing the door was going to give way at any moment, Handy let fly with another shout: “Godspeed!”

“New England!”

The Brotherhood broke down the door and lasers and bullets rewarded their efforts. Handy walked forward and absorbed the Brotherhood’s fire, but that put him at an angle to allow Experiment 18-B to simply vomit her payload into everything opposite her. 

“Don’t break! Keep pushing in!” The Paladin commanded although attempting to move through an established line of fire proved difficult, even for Brotherhood soldiers in full power armor.

“Keep the pressure on!” Handy shouted, picking out the soldiers that he could aim for. And 18-B didn’t just pick them off with a _ratatat_ , no it sounded more like a _brrrk_ with its ungodly rate of fire. The Brotherhood had made a fatal mistake in attempting a frontal assault, and it was now that they realized it and began to rout.

Handy reloaded a new fusion cell into his rifle and led a counter-attack. “Charge, charge, charge!” The opposing Brotherhood members panicked as they realized they could either stay and die or run and just _risk_ dying. Paladin Casdin had fallen, the first to do so, in fact, and Handy made a point of reminding The Brotherhood of it as he stepped on his corpse for leverage to steady his fire. 

Up and out The Brotherhood ran, and when the outer flank saw their comrades running, they themselves turned about and began to retreat. 

“Advancing,” every synth that recognized the retreat maneuver (and that was just about everyone) began to give chase themselves. The barrage from the windows never relented and The Brotherhood realized that their foes did not concern themselves with prisoners. They were out to cause as much damage as they could, they were here to remove whoever stood in their way.

Handy knew if they took prisoners it would serve as an impetus to further assault the tower, and while they could fend off a couple more waves, it wouldn’t take long before The Brotherhood found a way to outmaneuver or eventually outnumber them, chopping the NEA’s grip on the southern sector.

Handy put up his hand to halt the ground troops once they reached the gate. He learned from experience that one must never chase an enemy to the point of putting them on an equal battlefield. They fired at the visible units and only stopped when the wasteland lay black and empty before them. There was no cheering, no confirmation, nothing.

Then some commotion was heard from the lobby: “Godspeed New England! Godspeed New England!”

Those outside followed suit, and those in the windows. Man, woman, and synth united their cries and gave their retreating enemy a final parting gift. 


	6. Stars Align

**_Raven Rock, February 18, 2290, 7:02pm_ **

“You think this is gonna work?” Sarah inquired.

“Do we have a choice? I wouldn’t have gone through all that effort if I thought it wouldn’t be useful.” Abby replies, stringing along the soldier she had taken prisoner just days before. Sarah, Abby, the prisoner, and a good handful of Brotherhood knights start the walk up to Raven Rock, to where they saw their foes retreat into during the day of the invasion. Sarah coughs and begins the  _ negotiation _ .

“Brotherhood of Steel, this is  _ Sentinel _ Sarah Lyons. I know you’re listening in, so let us please talk this out and maybe we can come to an agreement.”

Silence... 

“I know you’re shocked to hear that I am alive, and I apologize for not coming forward sooner. To be transparent, I didn’t report back because of the new leadership under Elder Maxson; my own ward..." Sarah regretfully looks away from no one in particular. “I left because I wasn’t comfortable with the direction that he took. Our goal was to help the broken people of the wastelands; fighting for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves. I personally and wholeheartedly think that what Maxson did to our Brotherhood was shameful. But I’m standing here now because I know that there’s a chance for reconciliation. We simply wish to understand, so please... Let us in.”

Silence yet followed once more. Under pressure the prisoner now with them revealed the intel report that led to The Brotherhood shoring up their defenses at Raven Rock in the first place:  _ “Elder Maxson is dead, and because of the Institute, The Prydwen has fallen. We’ve been wiped out, those of us who survived have done so by blending in with the locals, getting by on the generosity of this NEA. We began to think that we could make new lives for ourselves in Commonwealth City, but that all changed when they sought to blacken The Brotherhood’s name by placing that synth pretender with Sarah Lyons’ face on a sect with our colors. The Director-General has declared an expedition to the Capital Wasteland; they’re coming.” _

Whoever was in Raven Rock wasn’t going to fold,  _ especially  _ not to a pretender designed to win them over.

“I’m not a synth... ” Sarah didn’t know anything that would convince them otherwise. The prisoner mentioned that they were briefed to be prepared for whatever intelligence they would have fed this ‘synth’ Sarah. After all, if the Institute specialized in sleeper agents, who’s to say that they didn’t try to dig up as much as they could on The Brotherhood’s history before blowing them to hell.

Abby began to sense her Elder becoming emotional, and put a hand on her shoulder to signal that she would take it from there. Sarah stepped aside and Abby yanked the prisoner forward by the collar.

“Identify yourself.”

“Damien... Lane. Knight of the Brotherhood of Steel..”

“How many are garrisoned inside Raven Rock?”

The prisoner hesitated. Abby twisted her hand, tightening his collar. “How many?”

“A  _ cck- _ hundred n’ five were stationed here.” Abby loosened her grip.

“And who’s your commanding officer?”

At this question, Knight Damien went absolutely silent. “Answer!” Abby slammed Damien against the door, but he remained steadfast, putting on the most resolute face Abby had ever seen him adopt during her time working on him. Abby turned to Sarah. “Gotta be a serious CO in there.”

Sarah looked a tad puzzled. Abby previously assured Sarah that he would cooperate with little to no resistance. So yes, there was a serious commanding officer holding the Rock.

“See that?” Damien pointed with his chin towards the upper left corner of the door, prompting Sarah and Abby to look. “That’s a pre-war surveillance and speaker system. They hear ya loud and clear, the boys even got a microphone to speak to you from, probably got an attendant there right now.”

“Then why won’t they negotiate?” Sarah asked.

Damien stayed quiet. 

“This is a waste of time.” The two women looked behind them to an approaching Preston. “We received a transmission, The southern front sustained a skirmish, thirteen wounded, two dead. The Brotherhood isn’t playing around down there.”

“Do we have intel on Brotherhood losses?” Sarah asked. Sure, they were her enemy, but a part of her winced whenever one of them fell.

“A total of fifty-nine confirmed dead, and the General killed their paladin, Paladin Casdin.” Sarah shut her eyes and rolled her tongue in her mouth.  _ Fucking Casdin _ . Fifty-nine of a Brotherhood that would be hers dead, all thanks to that purist Casdin.

“The General noted to me that he views the engagement as a loss. They’re sitting ducks down there until we start attracting more attention.”

“I know, I know,” Sarah said, quite exasperated. In truth, this was doing quite a number on her sanity. She didn’t know whether the members of The Brotherhood who had fallen were loyal to her father or not, and with each holotag collected, she felt more and more like a traitor.

Preston sighed. He knew what seeing a faction fall apart did to someone, but he dreaded to think about what being the instrument to that demise was like. “I’ll give you a moment, Elder, but I’m afraid we don’t have forever.”

Even Knight Damien was looking on in anticipation as Abby’s grip grew unconsciously looser and looser. After a moment that took a moment too long, Elder Lyons broke the silence with a jarring resolve. “Can we relay inside?”

“Doubtful. Relaying indoors is more than possible, but we don’t have a strong enough precision signal. Relaying with minimal accuracy in  _ there _ could get us scattered in a fortified garrison or buried alive in the walls.”

“So a single infiltrator.”

“Ma’am?”

“If one person relayed inside, they’d stand a better chance of actually getting in there in one piece, right?”

“I... think so- I’m not a scientist, I just pulled the information I needed to let the real scientists relay me back and forth.”

“And relaying one at a time results in a more precise spawn point! General, you're a genius!”

Preston just stood in shock as Sarah briskly walked to the main siege camp a little ways back. Abby nodded to one of the Brotherhood members and shoved her prisoner his way before following the two back. “I’m going in,” Sarah said.

“Elder Lyons!” Both Preston and Abby exclaimed. “There is no way that that’s a good idea,” the latter followed up.

“At best we might have an equal hostage situation with inferior leverage. At worst you’d have your own head served back to us on a platter.”

“We have orders not to break that door down, and it’s cost us a couple days. We underestimated their numbers here, granted, but we can’t lie down and let the fact stare us in the face,” Sarah said with a sudden turn of her back. “We have to keep moving,” she concluded.

“If we have to move, surely there’s a better way than moving  _ you  _ right into enemy hands,” Abby said with a stern, wide-eyed look. “If not me, then who, Sentinel?”

“I’ll go, I can do it.”

“Not with a relay announcing your presence, you’re not.”

The two ladies kept their bickering as Preston waited for a moment to interject. 

“Ladies?”

“What?!” They both said in unison with a sharp turn towards the Brigadier General.

“I may have an idea.”

**_Inside Raven Rock, February 19, 2290, 12:00am_ **

Two power armor-clad Brotherhood guards were just about to end their shift in the hallway as their eyes began to betray them. All they had to do was wait for one of the big metal doors to activate and they would be relieved.

A loud sound went off behind them and the two guards sluggishly picked themselves up and turned about face to go to the barracks, but they stopped in their tracks when they realized that it wasn’t at all what they expected.

“Could you boys help me out?” A woman with an Irish accent said as she cracked her knuckles. “Me husband doesn’t play with me anymore.”

**_Tenpenny Tower, February 19, 2290, 4:14am_ **

X6 knocked on Handy’s door. The Director was asleep, but he primed into action. “Come in.”

X6 saluted quickly. “You might want to check your Pip-Boy sir, we have confirmation that the north front has begun its advance southward.”

Handy sprung towards the desk, where his Pip-Boy was lying with a blinking notification. He picked it up and checked to see that the report was indeed true.

“Whew... about damn time.”

**_Inside Raven Rock, February 19, 2290, 12:25am_ **

The large metal door swung outward to welcome the battle-ready Brotherhood-NEA forces. When it opened, Cait marched proudly out with a suppressed grin on her face straight to Brigadier-General Garvey to deliver a playful salute to the party.

“Thanks for the playdate, handsome. Ladies,” she said, curtseying towards the Elder and her Sentinel. The rest of the troops seemed simply flabbergasted that a woman with barely any armor on was able not only to live, but successfully complete a major objective without so much as a stain on her casual dress.

“Pleasure as always, commander,” Preston said with a salute after they shook hands.

“So it was  _ that  _ simple, huh?” Sarah said, eyeing Abby with a slightly sour face.

“Uhuh... ” Abby replied, not even looking back at the Elder. “Then let’s not waste any more time. You coming?” She directs her question to Cait.

“Didn’t come all this way ‘ere for nothing.”

“Alright then, time to negotiate.” Abby said smirkingly as she cocked her rifle. 

“You’ll find ‘em a tad more willing I feel,” Cait said as she beckoned the group forward playfully. 

“Sentinel, to me,” Sarah ordered, and Abby whistled to get the other Brotherhood members inside. They had agreed that letting the Brotherhood of Gold take point would reduce the chances of any remaining Brotherhood of Steel members from immediately opening fire. After all, Elder Lyons’ primary goal was reintegration, a goal she shared with Director-General Galeone.

Sarah remembered these halls, she remembered walking through them victoriously over a decade and a half ago, and here she was, invading it once more. Except it wasn’t The Enclave and the devious President Eden in charge, no. It was the very Brotherhood she had worked with to occupy it in the first place that now stood in her path. 

“Stand down! Stand down!” She shouted to some guards that instinctively pointed their rifles towards her. In shock at her presence and unflinching movement as the group marched forward, every guard seemed to follow that order and surrender as they realized they were undoubtedly compromised. 

The halls of the Rock were winding and disorienting, tight and claustrophobic in some areas, it was a perfect place for a smaller force who knew the layout to stage a last stand, but the NEA forces moved with such an urgent pace that there was no time to regroup. Even the automated Sentry Bots and turrets seemed too confused to move.

“I took the liberty of shuttin’ down the auto-defenses,” Cait remarked as she followed closely along behind Sarah with a gauss rifle she picked up now in hand. “Not like they could do much, anyway. Bots in the Commonwealth are a lot bigger.”

Preston rolled his eyes a little, but was kind of surprised Cait knew her way around a terminal nowadays. Back before the NEA was formed she stayed way clear of any sort of technological gizmo, but now that she was married to the Director of the Institute, well, she figured she needed a lesson or two.  _ Well look at you, a model convert, _ Preston thought.

Sarah strode through the halls of Raven Rock, noting some random dings and scuffs on the steel walls, as if she remembered all of them. She actually did. She remembered when she helped the Lone Wanderer rehabilitate the place after it was blown up, her father figured it would serve as a useful Brotherhood stronghold.  _ Well, it did, didn’t it? _

Finally, she led them to a hallway that looked like a dead end with a door on the left, and pressed a button to enter. Her face was astute, angry almost. She readied her gauss rifle and entered with it half-poised, this was President Eden’s office, whoever was running the garrison was sure to be in here.

“Stand down! Stand down... Star... Paladin Cross?”

A dark-skinned woman in full T-50 power armor met the invasion by raising her own rifle, but she brought it down slowly when she realized who it was standing opposite her.

“S-Sarah?”

“Cross!” Sarah dropped her rifle and rushed over to hug her father’s most loyal subject and one of her best friends and comrades.

Star Paladin Cross, however, took a step back and raised her rifle once more, and those behind Sarah did the same from the doorway. As was her habit, Abby checked back down the hallway to see that all the Brotherhood of Steel members were disarmed and incapacitated. If things got ugly and a shot was fired, she would be a step ahead of any spritely Brotherhood of Steel member.

“Stay back,  _ synth,  _ you got a lotta nerve stepping in here with Sentinel Lyons’ face.”

“Cross, you’re more machine than any of us here but I don’t care about the machine,  _ look at me! _ ”

Cross observed the effects of age on Sarah’s face, the tears rolling down her eyes, the way her face contorted when faced with a rush of emotion, all uniquely her qualities. The Paladin was having a hard time keeping it together herself; Sarah was right, if anyone looked more human between the two of them, it was her.

“It’s me, Cross... it’s me.”

Cross paused for a moment, frozen in place. Then finally, she dropped her rifle completely, and in the most composed way she could, she uttered the best thing Sarah heard in months: “Where the fuck have you been?”

Before she could even finish, the two reunited friends hugged each other tight in their power armor with a loud clang. The rest of the soldiers sighed in relief. The battle for Raven Rock was over.

\--

“... and that’s all I know,” Cross said, leaning back.

“Huh... ” Sarah let out.

The commanders of the NEA and both Brotherhood factions were seated at the cafeteria, for lack of a large enough meeting area. A transmission that the group had started moving towards the Citadel was sent out to compensate for the transmission delay that existed. Word got around a lot slower here than in Commonwealth City.

“That’s a lot less resistance than we were given the impression. Our forces in the south were hit by an assault, took two deaths to over fifty.”

“I’m guessing that was Casdin, he’s the head honcho down there since the Elder left for the Commonwealth.”

“Funny you should mention that... ” 

“How are you getting this information so quickly? I don’t have a single word on what’s going on down there. It’s not exactly like old Three Dog gets his news laser-quick either.”

Preston chimed in. “That’s classified, sorry.”

“I understand. Just a little in awe is all. Probably for the best too, I trust my men, but we swore loyalty to The Brotherhood of Steel…” Cross glanced to some of his guards standing dutifully nearby. “Whichever one they stick with... I wouldn’t blame ‘em.”

Cait lent her voice this time for the first time. “You’re expecting a mutiny?”

“It’s bad for morale I know, but those soldiers out there are loyal, to me, and to the Brotherhood.”

“They were willing to starve here under your orders. We tried negotiating, nothing.”

“And they surrendered at the first sight of you.”

“That makes ‘em a bunch o’ routers to me,” Cait remarked. The rest expected an offended response from Cross, but none came until shortly after.

“I’d be inclined to agree with you,” Cross said. “Fear overcame this Brotherhood the moment Elder Lyons passed. The self-serving Outcasts were brought back in and we were back to our old plundering ways. Anyone who served with the Brotherhood had two options: bow to Maxson, or lose your head.”

Sarah looked a tad distraught. “That’s why Dr. Li fled to the Institute... ”

“Dr. Li? Is she alive?”

“She’s safe in the Institute Directorate. It was her that engineered the program to override Liberty Prime.”

“Huh... how I woulda paid to see that.”

“Oh ho, love, it was a sight,” Cait remarked once more. Cross looked at her with a curious smile, it wasn’t very often (or at all) that she encountered such a casual countenance in a military setting.

“So, Star Paladin,” Abby, who was standing apart from the group and leaning against a nearby wall, piqued. “What’s your recommended course moving forward?”

“Hit everything standing between us and the Citadel hard. Taking Tenpenny was a stroke of genius by your general, the counter-assault was a scare tactic to get him second-guessing, one that I’m telling you now failed. With Casdin dead, command should be in shambles. And with a third of the southern quadrant dead, so are the rest.”

Everyone stayed silent in thought. It went along with their original orders to be sure, but letting the Star Paladin’s platoon tag along was a decision that had to made with consideration and deliberatio-

“I say we do it,” Sarah said as she looked around at her comrades. “As Elder of the Brotherhood of Gold I grant a pardon and the rank of Star Paladin to Cross, and retain the ranks of the remaining members within her platoon. Ad victoriam, Star Paladin,” Sarah brought her fist to her heart.

“Ad victoriam, Elder Lyons,” Cross said doing the same with a repressed smile.


End file.
